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Last week we reported on some displays in the works to help promote The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. These displays are to be featured in shopping centers around the US.

Now, NarniaFans.com has exclusive information on the specific locations of these displays.

This holiday season, Taubman centers around the country will be unveiling multi-sensory, interactive Ice Palaces based on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This magical experience will run between November 12th and December 24th, beginning with a special lighting ceremony on the evening of November 12th. The ceremony will illuminate Ice Palaces across the country as fans everywhere gather together for the celebration. Additionally, talent from the film will be hosting the opening event via a live stream, from Beverly Center in Los Angeles.

Participating Taubman Centers nationwide:
• California: Beverly Center (Los Angeles), Sunvalley (Concord)
• Colorado: Cherry Creek (Denver)
• Connecticut: Westfarms (Farmington)
• Florida: Dolphin Mall (Miami), International Plaza (Tampa), The Mall at Wellington Green (Wellington)
• Illinois: Woodfield Mall (Schaumburg)
• Michigan: Fairlane Town Center (Dearborn), Great Lakes Crossing (Auburn Hills), Twelve Oaks (Novi),
• New Jersey: The Mall at Short Hills (Short Hills)
• North Carolina: Northlake (Charlotte)
• Texas: The Shops at Willow Bend (Plano)
• Virginia: Fair Oaks Mall (Fairfax), MacArthur Center (Norfolk)

Two more tidbits of information showed up on the Official Narnia Facebook page. The first is that “Georgie Henley and Will Poulter will be on hand to introduce the Los Angeles Ice Palace and host the nationwide ceremony!” And the second piece of info gives us a hint of some of the display pieces. “Have your photo taken in the ice throne from the world of Narnia this Holiday season!”

If you are able to see one of these displays, please take pictures and send them in to us via Spy Reports!

Thanks to everyone who sent this story in!

Regal Entertainment Group, which is a large theater company, has released a design for a Voyage of the Dawn Treader gift card.  You can purchase the gift card for a friend, family member, or for yourself by clicking here.  The gift cards can be loaded with any amount of money.

Thanks to 220Christian and Icarus for the heads up!

43 minutes

The NarniaWeb Council returns to discuss the new quote from Director Michael Apted. Rilian, glumPuddle, Warrior4Jesus and Dr. Elwin Ransom give their thoughts on how they feel about this direction as well as the potential ramifications and getting to the heart of the question: “Does this really reflect CS Lewis’s chronicles?”

For reference, here is the full quote from Michael Apted: “We were able to steal, really, from the book CS Lewis didn’t write, which is the one that would have gone between The Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair. He starts The Silver Chair with the witches building up an army underground to attack the above world, and Caspian, having married The Blue Star of  is an old man with a son, and he married the Blue Star of Ramandu. In other words, a lot of things had happened between the books. So there were elements that we were able to draw out of that non-existent story and inject into this story to give it a bit more sense of purpose. And the CS Lewis estate didn’t seem to mind that, because there is a big hole in the story if you’re going to be literal about it. Whereas Star Wars and Harry Potter are a bit more attentive to that flowing stream of franchise narrative, Mr Lewis wasn’t so keen on it. But it enabled us to find a stronger reason for the journey, since there is no real reason for the journey as it stands.”

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On November 6th, representatives from Walden Media and from BlueNose Edutainment will be at the Naples International Film Festival, and will show a program at the Silverspot Cinema showcasing “a behind-the-scenes introduction to the upcoming release of C.S. Lewis’s classic tale.”  In addition to a screening of the film, this presentation will include a session in screenwriting which will be geared towards educators who might wish to implement the themes of the film into their classroom activities.  The lesson plans will be geared towards students who are between five and twelve years old, and will be based on script segments released from 20th Century Fox. 

You can read the whole article by clicking here.

Thanks to 220Christian for the scoop!

From the Official Walden.com website:

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER WORLD PREMIERE SWEEPSTAKES

Return to the hope and wonder of C.S. Lewis’ beloved world—via the fantastic Narnian ship, the Dawn Treader. In this new installment of the blockbuster The Chronicles of Narnia motion picture franchise, a stirring tale of empowerment and adventure, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their cousin Eustace, their royal friend King Caspian, and the warrior mouse Reepicheep, find themselves swallowed into a painting and onto the Dawn Treader. During their mission—on which rests the fate of Narnia itself—they overcome their greatest temptations and shortcomings, as they travel to mysterious islands and a pool that turns anything it touches into gold; to fateful confrontations with magical creatures and sinister enemies; and to a reunion with their friend and protector, the Great Lion Aslan.

Enter for the Chance to Win:

Free Tickets for Two to THE WORLD PREMIERE of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of The Dawn Treader on November 30, 2010 in London, England OR a free advance screening of the film at a theater near you!

Imagine attending the World Premiere of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of The Dawn Treader or hosting a free screening of the film in a theater near you! Walden Media is offering a chance for this once-in-a-lifetime experience to any member of walden.com who is a United States resident and a full-time teacher, librarian, principal, educational paraprofessional, district professional, after-school leader or registered home school parent. The winner will receive:

Round-trip economy airfare for two from any airport in the 50 United States or the District of Columbia to London, England
Three nights’ accommodation at a four-star hotel
Meals and ground transportation to and from the airport and to and from the Premiere

-OR-

Bring the magic of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader to your students with a free advance screening right in your town! The winner will receive:

A free screening of the film for you and 50 friends! Location of the theater to be chosen by Walden Media and Twentieth Century Fox, but will be in the vicinity of winner’s town. Screening to take place in December.

Please click here for the official contest rules.

Thanks to AncientEgyptFan and 220ChrisTian for the heads up!

There are a couple new books on the horizon for Narnia lovers!

Looking for the King: An Inklings Novel by David Downing will be released on October 30th and features as characters such famous Inklings as C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams. With an Arthurian theme and discussions of Christianity, free will, and mythology, Looking for the King promises to be an interesting read. You can find out more about it here.

White Cloud Worlds: An Anthology Of Science Fiction And Fantasy Artwork From Aotearoa New Zealand is Weta Workshop’s new book featuring artistic creations from Narnia, Middle-earth, and the world of Avatar. Read more about it here.

If you read either of these titles, we’d love to hear your thoughts! Please visit the forums to discuss them — and happy reading!

A few days ago we reported on InsidePulse.com getting a sneak peek of some footage from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Now, several other websites are posting their reviews of the same footage. We’ve done our best to keep this story spoiler free and only post the reactions of the viewers, but if you want to read the full stories, click on each of the names to go to the full review. Here are some highlights.

Film.com, Laremy Legal:

I really liked the look of the effects, much better this time around, and director Michael Apted seems to have finally nailed some of the pacing and tonal issues that plagued the series. Plus, who doesn’t want to see a dragon in a movie?

Fans of the series will be pleased, and I think the movie has a legitimate chance to improve on what we’ve seen from the first two films. That said, I only saw 30 minutes, and not in the 3-D format the film will be presented in. So we’ll all have to just sit tight until December 10, 2010 for the final verdict, but I’m cautiously optimistic to see the final product.

The Salt Lake Tribune, The Movie Cricket, Sean P. Means:

The nine clips shown by Fox reveal stronger special effects than the first two films, and a better sense of action, thanks to veteran director Michael Apted. The most jarring change is the voice of the sword-fighting rodent Reepicheep, with Simon Pegg replacing Eddie Izzard.

Fox faces an uphill marketing battle with “Dawn Treader,” which opens Dec. 10 — just one week before an even more-hyped blockbuster, Disney’s “Tron Legacy”.

We Are Movie Geeks, Jim Batts:

Recently this reporter got chance to look at several completed scenes from the upcoming release THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA : THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER. From the looks of the half hour of footage screened, this newest installment in the series promises just as much visual splendor and swashbuckling adventure as the previous two films.

…

The footage is most impressive. The camerawork is solid, the colors pop, and the CGI mixes very well with the live actors. We did not get to view the scenes in 3D, so I can’t give any opinions on how it will look in that process. Although there have been several changes with this entry(Michael Apted replaces Andrew Adamson as director and Fox takes over from Disney ) this film promises to be another entertaining all ages fantasy film.

Dr. Devin Brown (C.S. Lewis scholar) was recently interviewed by Katherine Britton at Crosswalk.com. It’s a really interesting interview. He talks a lot about what makes a good adaptation, and what he thinks are the most important themes of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. You can listen to it here (6 minutes), or read AslansCountry.com’s transcript. Here are some highlights:

“Lewis’s stories are the kind of stories that they’re re-reading again and again and again. They’re the kind of stories that work on all different kinds of levels, with both small children and scholars.”

On the first two Narnia films: “I don’t think you can make a movie just anything you want from a book. Don’t get me wrong, not any change is acceptable. But at the end of the day, I ask myself is the film saying what the book is saying or have they changed it? In both those cases, they have.”

“[Lewis] also really awakens in us the longing for another world. In a way the world of Harry Potter is really our world. But there’s another world that we were made for that our world is somewhat like and is reminding us.”

Thanks to ’220chrisTian.’

The Cinema and Television Benevolence Fund are reporting that the premiere for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, will be attended by Her Majesty The Queen of England, and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh.  You can read the article for yourself by clicking here.

Thanks to 220Christian and Icarus for the heads up!

Shockya.com has uploaded three images from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader onto their website, including one I believe is brand new though the other two are not. But all three are the highest resolution versions of these pictures that we’ve come across so far.

Image From Shockya.com

Click here to go to Shockya.com, and then click on the individual pictures to view them in high res.